Use of Conversion and Acoustic Signals in Measuring Depression Severity

描述(由申请人提供)：该项目的目的是初步评估一种使用患者语言的声学测量的新型抑郁症监测技术的心理测量特性(重测信度、标准效度和对变化的敏感性)。语音社交信号平台(VSSP)是一种对语音的韵律(非语言)特征进行分析的软件。一个人的语音的声学属性一旦被分析，就被称为语音社交信号(VSS)。由于抑郁的人可能会表现出他们的语音韵律的变化，声音社会信号可以为评估抑郁症状提供一个有用的测量工具。在这项拟议的研究中，我们将使用VSSP来分析抑郁症患者的语音，这些患者使用基于自动电话的对话系统(电话连接通信(TLC))进行交谈。由此产生的声音社会信号(VSS)的心理测量学特性将是我们建议研究的主题。在这项研究中，声音社会信号将与两种不同的可靠和有效的工具进行比较。其中一个工具(PHQ-9)是一个简短的、常用的问卷，具有良好的信度和效度。由于PHQ-9是一份简短、有效和可靠的问卷，它已被调整以适应不同的方式，如通过电话和自动格式(例如，计算机电话和网络)。第二个工具是抑郁症状学(IDS)清单，由健康专业人员进行半结构化访谈。入侵检测系统是一种相对较新的30项抑郁症症状严重程度的衡量标准，包括诊断DSM-IV严重抑郁障碍所需的所有症状域，它还评估症状缓解情况。入侵检测系统有测量项目来检测不同级别的症状。我们将评估VSS的重测信度、效度和发现变化的能力，方法是将其与入侵检测系统和PHQ-9在80名个体(60名抑郁者和20名非抑郁者)进行比较。VSS将在5个数据收集点与PHQ-9进行比较，而它将在两个数据收集点与入侵检测系统进行比较。然而，在所有五个数据采集点期间，参与者将提供录音语音样本，因为他们将与管理PHQ-9(TLC-PHQ9)的TLC系统交谈。这项研究的重要性有两个方面：1)如果VSS本身被证明是可靠和有效的，那么研究人员和临床医生就可以利用VSSP软件通过记录患者的言语来检测抑郁和抑郁症状的严重程度。2)然而，如果VSS和PHQ-9的结合更好，那么评估抑郁程度的理想方法可能是通过电话自动给药PHQ-9，并结合对患者言语的VSS分析(例如，他们对PHQ-9问题的反应)。总而言之，这项研究中对VSS的评估提供了在研究中以及可能在临床实践中衡量抑郁症严重程度的显著改进的潜力。公共卫生相关性：该项目与公共卫生相关，因为它有能力为临床医生提供一种客观的衡量标准，以便轻松而不引人注目地评估抑郁症患者的症状严重程度。这反过来又会增加和改善抑郁症的治疗效率和疗效。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The aim of this project is the preliminary evaluation of the psychometric properties (test-retest reliability, criterion validity and sensitivity to change) of a novel depression monitoring technology that uses acoustic measures of the patient's speech. The Vocal Social Signals Platform (VSSP) is software that performs analysis on the prosodic (non-verbal) characteristics of speech. The acoustic attributes of a person's speech once analyzed are referred to as the Vocal Social Signals (VSS). Since depressed individuals may demonstrate changes in their speech prosody, Vocal Social Signals could present a useful measurement tool for assessing depression symptoms. In the proposed study, we will employ VSSP to analyze the speech of depressed patients who converse with an automated telephone-based conversational system (Telephone-Linked Communications {TLC}). The psychometric properties of the resulting Vocal Social Signals (VSS) will be the subject of our proposed study. In this study, the Vocal Social Signals will be compared to two different reliable and valid instruments. One instrument, (PHQ-9), is a brief, commonly used questionnaire with good reliability and validity. Since the PHQ- 9 is a brief, validated and reliable questionnaire, it has been adapted to different modalities such as over the telephone and in automated formats (e.g., computer telephony and the Web). The second instrument, the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (IDS), is administered in a semi-structured interview by a health professional. The IDS is a relatively recent 30-item measure of depression symptom severity that includes all the symptom domains needed to diagnose a DSM-IV major depressive disorder and it also assesses for symptom remission. The IDS has scaling items to detect different levels of symptoms. We will evaluate the test-retest reliability of VSS, its criterion validity and its ability to detect change by comparing it to the IDS and to PHQ-9 among 80 individuals (60 depressed and 20 non-depressed). The VSS will be compared to the PHQ- 9 in 5 data collection points while it will be compared to IDS in two data collection points. During all five data collection points, however, the participants will provide a recorded voice sample as they will converse with the TLC system which will administer the PHQ-9 (TLC-PHQ9). The importance of this study is two-fold: 1) If the VSS alone is demonstrated to be reliable and valid, then it would be possible for researchers and clinicians to utilize the VSSP software to detect depression and level of depression symptom severity by recording a patient's speech. 2) However, if the combination of the VSS and PHQ-9 is better, then an ideal methodology for assessing depression level might be an automated telephonic administration of PHQ-9 combined with a VSS analysis of the patients' speech (e.g., their responses to the PHQ-9 questions). Altogether, the evaluation of VSS in this study offers the potential of making a significant improvement in how depression severity level is measured in research and possibly in clinical practice. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This project is relevant to public health as it has the ability to provide clinicians with an objective measure to easily and unobtrusively assess symptom severity in depressed patients. This in turn will increase and improve the efficiency and efficacy of depression treatment.